From the Beginning: Lily and James
by soccersweeti88
Summary: The story of Lily and James from Year One at Hogwarts until their tragic demise...Read and Review!
1. Year One

James Potter walked into the King's Cross station feeling quite confident. Although, like many others, this would be his first year at Hogwarts, James felt he was already a few steps ahead of the rest. He already had a few friends, and he was overwhelmingly excited when he got his letter, so he began to work on spells. Of course, he did not practice them yet, because that was against the wizard world's policy, but he knew the gestures and words to use for each spell he knew. As he, his mother, and his father walked between Platform Nine and ¾, he began to get a little nervous, and his hand immediately went to his hair. Looking at him with a slight frown, his mother sighed and said, "Oh James, can't you tidy your hair just for once?" She started fussing over his hair and tried to get it down, but it seemed each time she got one hair down another fell out of place. After she was done with her feeble attempts to make him presentable, she began to lecture him about his behavior, and about keeping up on his schoolwork. As usual, James tuned her out and instead glanced toward the girls he saw standing around and whispering excitedly. Feeling self conscious after his mother had messed with his hair; he began to ruffle it again, getting sighs from his mother and a small chuckle from his dad.  
  
"Hurry James or you'll miss the train. Now go and find a seat." His father said, grinning down at his son proudly. James was the spitting image of his father, with untidy black hair, and bright hazel eyes. He jumped back from his thoughts of the girls, hurried off toward the train, and waved to his parents before he disappeared into the doorway. He walked through the narrow corridor, searching through the glass of each compartment doorway for his best friend, Sirius Black, or anyone else he might know. Finally, as he neared the end of the corridor, He spotted Sirius in a compartment along with Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew. "Oy, its James! We thought you'd missed the train!" said Sirius, smiling at the sight of his friend. "Nah," said James, as if he'd been here since yesterday. The four friends talked and laughed all the way to Hogwarts, and out in the hall they could be heard, with a nervous chuckle from Peter every so often.  
  
When they reached Hogwarts, they followed a man who had introduced himself as Hagrid into the school toward the Great Hall. Hagrid forced open the overly enormous doors to reveal a large room filled with 4 large tables, a stool with a raggedy hat on it, and a long table with many seats, filled with teachers. A tall man with a long, silvery-gray beard stood up and said gleefully, "Students, please take a seat at your house table; as for those of you just joining us, please take a seat up here in the front." Everyone took their seats and the first years moved hesitantly as a group toward the front of the Great Hall. They each sat on a stool, and as James looked down the row, he noticed that there were exactly as many stools as there were first years. After everyone was seated and had quieted down, the man continued. "For those of you who don't know me, I am Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts. Professor McGonagall..." A shorter woman stepped forward with a large scroll, cleared her throat, and addressed the first years. "When your name is called, step forward, sit on this stool, and place the hat on your head." All the first years nodded in understanding, and she began, with Able, Timothy, and named a few others. Then she got to Black, Sirius, and James gave him an excited look of anticipation as Sirius cautiously stepped forward. He put on the hat, a few seconds passed, and the hat shouted, "GRYFFINDOR." Sirius eagerly took off the hat and sat down at the Gryffindor table. A little more time passed, and the list came to Lupin, Remus (Gryffindor), Pettigrew, Peter (Gryffindor), and finally, James Potter. James was feeling nervous and excited all at the same time. He sat on the stool and put on the hat. "Ah, James Potter." The hat said. "Well let's see here. I think GRYFFINDOR!" The last word boomed through the Great Hall, as it had for everyone else's name. He hurried to the table and sat by Sirius and the rest of his friends.  
  
As soon as everyone was sorted and seated, the tables magically filled with food, and the Great Hall was soon filled with their soothing aroma and laughter and talking. The boys looked hungrily at all of the food that lay before them, grinned at each other and dug in. After they had had their fill, they followed a couple older students from Gryffindor into the corridors and towards Gryffindor Tower. As they walked, James notices many girls were eyeing him, and he couldn't say he was unhappy about it. When they got there, they found a portrait of a large woman. James had already heard about this, it was the hidden doorway to the tower. One of the older students looked at her and said, "Constantinople," and the Fat Lady swung open. They curiously stepped inside, went up the stairs and found themselves in the common room. There were many large, welcoming comfy chairs sitting around warm, blazing fires. James looked around with astonishment at how large and wonderful Gryffindor Tower was. He felt he might never want to leave. He swung around to get a better look, and almost knocked over a girl who was standing behind him.  
  
"Oops!" he said clumsily, and turned around to see if she was ok.  
  
She looked up at him, and he saw that she was tantalizingly beautiful. She had blazing red hair that fell just past her shoulders. She had large, beautiful emerald green eyes that glittered and reflected the fire. James shook his head and came back to reality, realizing that he had been staring for a while yet. She looked at him, blinked, and smiled; it was obvious to James that she had been staring at him as well. He began to ruffle his hair and then quickly turned away. He looked back over his shoulder, and she had already gone back to her group of friends.  
  
"...and then he says to me" Sirius trailed off. "...Hey James! Earth to James, come in James!" said Sirius impatiently.  
  
"Huh? Oh what?" said James, as he turned and jumped back to reality.  
  
"Oh, never mind." Snapped Sirius, and yawned greatly. "I'm going upstairs."  
  
There was a murmur of agreement from the four boys, and they hurried up the stairs to bed. James noticed that once again, there seemed to be just enough beds for each of the boys. James lay in bed and thought about that girl. He just couldn't seem to get her out of his head. He didn't even ask her name! Well, he would in the morning then. He yawned a great big yawn and fell asleep.  
  
The next morning, James awoke from a peaceful dream. He groaned as he regretfully realized that it was only a dream. He had met that girl and asked her name. Then they became friends, and they somehow ended up on a date together on his broomstick. They were flying through the air; her soft, pale hands lay clasped around his waist, holding on for dear life. Then, he decided to go back, thus ending their date. They reached to large front doors of Hogwarts, and he helped her to gently step off of the broom. He too, got off, and held the broom in one arm, and they walked into the castle toward Gryffindor Tower together. He ruffled his hair a bit with his free hand, and then cautiously placed it around her shoulders, as if not wanting to impose it upon her. They walked up to the front of the portrait of the Fat Lady, and James turned to tell her the password. But before he could get a word out, he turned hesitantly toward the girl and she reached up and pulled him toward her in a somewhat passionate kiss. Sparks went off behind James' eyes and he felt as if he might just float away. Unfortunately, he woke up, thus ending the dream. He got up and groggily pulled his clothes on, noticed that his friends were already gone, and shuffled tiredly toward the Great Hall for breakfast.  
  
When he arrived at the Great Hall, he took his seat next to Sirius. They all talked and laughed, and James turned sideways and saw her-but he still didn't know her name. He turned back to his friends.  
  
"Uh...guys? I'll be right back." He said, still tired.  
  
"Ooh is James gonna go check out his new girlfriend?" Sirius teased.  
  
"How can she be my girlfriend? The only word we've had is my 'Oops'. Plus, I don't even know her name." James replied matter-of-factly.  
  
Then he walked toward her without another word. He saw once again that she was beautiful, and found himself just wanting to talk to her. However, he found that he did not know what he wanted to say. Still, he continued to walk toward her.  
  
"Er..." he said dumbfounded, when he reached her.  
  
"Yes, James?" she said coolly. "How did you...? I mean..." he said, feeling more stupid than he ever had in his life.  
  
"Know your name?" she finished for him. "I have my ways." Her voice had a bit of a mysterious tone in it.  
  
"Oh well I just... well I was wondering...what's your name?" he finally found the words.  
  
"It's Lily." She said frankly.  
  
"Oh..." he said stupidly. Not wanting to more damage than he already had, he said a quick 'Good-bye' and walked defeated back to his friends, who 'accidentally' overheard the whole thing.  
  
"Ooh, nice one James. So smooth." said Sirius mockingly.  
  
"Yes, you just had so much to say, it was overwhelming," said Remus, with a hearty laugh.  
  
"Ha, ha. Very funny, you guys are just so witty." said James, feeling slightly down in the dumps.  
  
"Well, I suppose we better get on to class," said Sirius, "Potions first."  
  
Over the next few weeks, Lily and James became good friends, and James found himself trying to 'accidentally' bump into her in the hallways. They would get together in the Gryffindor common room and study or work on their schoolwork and they would chat and talk about recent events.  
  
Eventually the final exams approached, and everyone was jittery with nervousness. James and Sirius, however, were good students so they were not worried. Lily, however, was on the brink of a nervous breakdown. She, being muggle-born, was worried that she was not as good at spells as the other students. James was often found attempting to cheer her up and convince her that she would do fine.  
  
"But you're brilliant with charms!" he tried.  
  
"My potions could be better." She pointed out.  
  
"But you're really good at turning things into water goblets! That's sure to be on the Transfiguration final!"  
  
He finally gave up. His feeble attempts were not getting him anywhere. Lily would just have to wait and see that she would do great, probably better than any of the 'pure-bloods' and such around school.  
  
Finally it was the last day, and everyone was getting their bags ready for the train that would take them home the next day.  
  
"All students please take your bags to the front of the Great Hall, and they will be loaded onto the train from their. Then report to the Great Hall for the End-of-Year feast. Thank you," said a magically projected voice that boomed throughout the large school.  
  
James, Sirius, Lupin, and Peter all hustled down to the Great Hall. They dropped of their trunks and animals, and went into the Great Hall to wait for the feast to begin. James had a jumble of mixed feelings. He was sad to be leaving, because he loved Hogwarts, but he was happy to be going to see his family again. He hadn't seen them since last September, owing to the fact that he vowed to always stay at Christmas with Sirius, who couldn't bear to go home to his family. Dumbledore gave a short speech, and clapped his hands. Food appeared on plates all over the once empty tables. James was still amazed by this, although he had seen it before and should have grown accustomed to it. They began to eat to their hearts content.  
  
Feeling cozy, warm, and full, James lie in bed and fell asleep quickly. The next morning they all went downstairs to be escorted to their train. James and Sirius found themselves an empty compartment and sat down. James had wanted to talk to Lily, to say goodbye, but he hadn't seen her at all, and he didn't want to search the entire train for her. So he shrugged to himself and figured he would just see her later. The train arrived at the station and students eagerly ran to the exits, anxious to see their families again. When they all found their parents, James said a quick goodbye to Sirius, because he would be seeing him again in a few weeks. Sirius was going to come and stay with the Potters for part of the summer; James couldn't stand to let Sirius with his family for 3 long months. Then James looked over and saw Lily, standing by the barrier to get onto Platform 9 ¾. She was standing with her parents, who James knew were muggles, and a smug looking girl who he knew immediately as her sister, Petunia. Petunia was rotten to Lily, and was ashamed that a 'freak' like Lily had been born into their family.  
  
He walked over to her and Lily introduced him to her parents. Her mother gave Lily a wink and Lily began to blush uncontrollably and scowled at her mom. James said a quick goodbye and eagerly went off with his parents, anxious to be home again.  
  
~End of first year~ 


	2. Year Two

Lily and James stayed the good friends they had become, even through the summer when they were unable to see each other. When James arrived at Hogwarts, he was anxious to begin the new year. Because students could not do magic outside of school, he had to go an entire 3 months without as much as a flick of his wand. James was especially excited that year due to the fact that second years were allowed to try out for the Quidditch teams, and James was particularly interested in becoming the new Seeker for the Gryffindor team, owing to the fact that last year's Seeker had graduated from Hogwarts. He felt he had a fairly good chance; he had been working on his reflexes all summer with golf balls his dad had enchanted for him. They were enchanted to fly around sneakily, much like the Snitch and James had become exceptionally good at catching them.  
  
Finally the day of the Quidditch tryouts arrived, and James couldn't have felt more confident. When he arrived at the Quidditch pitch, the rest of the Gryffindor team was already there and up on their broomsticks. James leaped confidently onto his broomstick, the latest Cleansweep, which, at the time, was one of the best on the market. He kicked off and flew toward the captain.  
  
"What do I have to do?" he asked eagerly.  
  
"Well, we feel that since its Seeker you want to be, you need to catch the Snitch, and there will be Bludgers and everything else going on. We want you to catch it as quick as you can," explained Andrew Watley, one of Gryffindor's best Chasers, and captain.  
  
James nodded in understanding, eager to show them his skills, and his eyes had a hopeful glint in them. Andrew set the Snitch off, and James watched the golden speck flitter out of sight. He chased after where he last saw it, and found it sitting by another Chaser's ear. He went full speed, and passed the Chaser so fast he almost knocked her off her broom. A few seconds later, he had the Snitch in hand, and was grinning from ear to ear.  
  
Andrew came up, he too was grinning. "Congratulations!" he said. "Welcome to the Gryffindor Quidditch team.  
  
James went back to Gryffindor Tower with a triumphant look plastered on his face. Sirius and Lupin jumped up at the sight of him, with looks of condolence on their faces. They obviously did not think he would make it. But when they saw James' grin, their faces changed into huge grins that did not need telling that he had made it.  
  
The next few weeks went very well for James. His grades were as good as ever, even with the fact that he had Quidditch practice a lot. Because of his skills at being Seeker in Quidditch, James became a lot more popular with the girls, and because of this, all the guys wanted to know him. And, by association, Sirius, who the girls had already found handsome, seemed to be getting some extra attention as well. Lily, however, found this annoying, because although they had become friends, James was becoming more and more, well, egotistical. He sort of began to ignore her, enjoying the extra attention. He's brush her off when they had plans to meet to study or whatever the case may be. He was increasingly rude and had a hugely annoying habit of ruffling his hair. James also began to pick on people for seemingly no reason, which Lily found rude and immature. He seemed to take a particular joy out of picking on Severus Snape. They had disliked each other since after Christmas in their first year. Lily had no idea why, because she had gone home for Christmas. James had decided to stay with Sirius because Sirius couldn't bear to go home to his family-he despised them. All Lily knew was that now Severus seemed to be the main target of James' ridicule. James seemed to be oblivious as to how Lily was reacting to his newfound life. It seemed James did not find the need to talk to her because of his newfound popularity.  
  
When James finally did decide to talk to her, she snapped at him.  
  
"Hey Lily. How's it going?" he said in a cool voice.  
  
"Oh, finally decided to come and talk to me, have you?" she spat.  
  
"What do you mean?" he said, dumbfounded.  
  
"Been ignoring me for weeks, didn't bother to tell me you'd made the Quidditch team... completely neglected me... arrogant..." random phrases spilled out of her mouth, and her face was red hot with anger.  
  
James still did not seem to get it. "Oh, are you jealous? Is that it? Because I'm popular? And because other girls like me? Did you just want me all to yourself? Can't handle me having other friends because I'm the only one you've got?" he spat icily.  
  
As soon as he said those words, he regretted them. If it was humanly possible, Lily would have had smoke coming out of her ears. All eyes in the common room were turned on them.  
  
"How...dare...you!" she said slowly.  
  
"Lily. I'm sorry! I-I didn't mean it!" James sputtered, but she never heard him.  
  
She turned on her heel and walked up to the girls' dormitory without a word.  
  
Part of James wanted to go up there after her, but he realized glumly that there was nothing he could do. He especially did not want to talk to Lily when she was so angry. Her face had been beet red! He'd wait till the morning... or maybe next week. He sighed and went to the boy's dormitory, face red with embarrassment. He felt as though people's starting eyes were burning into his face.  
  
Over the next few weeks, James wanted to talk to Lily and try to apologize again, but she would only walk away from him without a word, and he didn't have a lot of time on his hands. The first Quidditch match was approaching, against Slytherin, and Andrew wanted them be completely ready for anything. He was obsessing over every detail, and had doubled their practice time. James tried to talk to Lily between classes, but she would turn around and somehow mysteriously disappear into the crowd of students. It was driving him insane, not being able to talk to her. Although they hadn't been friends for too long, he had a large, empty feeling deep in the pit of his stomach.  
  
Lily felt she had reached the end of her rope. James, she had come to the realization, was an egotistical, arrogant jerk that could not- or would not- ever change. She wanted with all her heart to forgive him for his harsh words, but could not allow herself to make it that easy. She needed someone she could confide in, but she had spent most of her free time with James, and hardly knew anyone else. She decided she needed to get to know the Gyffindor girls in her year.  
  
The day of the Quidditch match arrived, and James felt as though he would throw up at any moment, although there really wasn't anything for him to throw up; he had hardly touched his breakfast. Sirius and Remus came down to wish him good luck, and Sirius tried to cheer James up by making a crack about Snape, but to no avail. They went up to sit in the crowd, leaving James with the team. James had a nagging feeling that if he only had Lily's support, he would feel better. He shook the thought out of his head and walked shakily onto the field with the rest of the team. He was not feeling half as confident as he had at practices, and if he looked how he felt, his face would have been a rather nasty shade of green. As soon as he took off, his nervousness disappeared. This, he though, was where he belonged. He snapped out of his thoughts as he realized that he needed to be on the lookout for Snitches, and keep away from Bludgers. He roamed around the field aimlessly, and then, ten seconds later he saw it- hovering right above Snape's head. Great, he thought sarcastically, and sped toward where he had seen the flittering sparkle of gold.  
  
Luckily for him, the Snitch flew away from Snape, and was now floating over the Gryffindor crowd's heads. He sped toward them and they all gasped and ducked, cautiously peeking over the side of the stands. He chased the Snitch back toward the Quidditch field, and over toward the goals Gryffindor was guarding. He looped in and out of the goals, and one spectacular dive later, he had the Snitch in hand, and was grinning from ear to ear.  
  
People were still congratulating him days later, and the grin had not yet left his face. However, he was still feeling down; Lily would not talk to him. He was doing everything he could to make her forgive him, everything, he supposed, except what she wanted.  
  
In the meantime, James had found the perfect outlet for all of his feelings- Severus Snape. The story that was going around behind why James and Snape hated each other was simple: just another Gryffindor-Slytherin rivalry. Only few people knew that was only the beginning. It was Christmas break, first year of school. James and Sirius were sitting in the Great Hall, playing a game of wizards chess. Snape walked in with a large smirk on his face, which was odd. Snape was never happy, he had no friends. James shrugged and he and Sirius went back to their game. Just then Professor McGonagall walked in.  
  
"Hello Mr. Potter. Mr. Black." She said angrily.  
  
They immediately knew something was up.  
  
"We have a...er... source," she continued, "who says you two have been using this to get around after hours."  
  
She held up James' invisibility cloak. James swallowed nervously, and gave a terrified glance towards Sirius. Snape stood up, smiling, and James and Sirius immediately knew who the 'source' was.  
  
"However," she said, "since there is no substantial evidence to support that any mischief has been going on after hours lately, you may have this back, and I must ask you to leave it in your trunk."  
  
James looked back at Snape and saw the smile disappear from his face. Professor McGonagall handed the silvery cloak to James and walked out of the Great Hall, without a backward glance.  
  
James and Sirius turned to Snape, grinning. Snape's eyes widened and he headed for the doors of the Great Hall. James pulled out his wand, and Sirius followed suit. Snape, however, was ready for them. There were flashes of light, and the three lay on the floor, each with a different hex on them. James and Sirius knew that Snape had gotten the better of them; Snape had cast two spells in the time it had taken each of them to cast one.  
  
They decided this was not going to happen again, and spent the rest of their Christmas vacation working on learning knew spells and hexes in an empty classroom. They also decided that they would have to try their spells out on someone, and who better than unsuspecting Snape. The only people who knew that story were James, Sirius, Snape, Remus, and Peter. Everyone else thought James and Sirius were just showing off. But they only saw one side of the story.  
  
James found himself feeling particularly angry at Snape after remembering this encounter, and he had a pounding headache. He sat by the fire in the empty Gryffindor common room. Everyone else had already gone to bed, so his sat alone, drowning in his own thoughts, trying to think of ways to get Lily to befriend him again. Then it suddenly occurred to him- back at the train station at the end of last year, Lily's mom winked at her... she blushed!  
  
"James, you're brilliant!" he congratulated himself in a soft whisper.  
  
That's what it is, he thought to himself. It's that I never noticed her for anything more than a friend. That's what she wants, he thought to himself. Feeling better, he tiredly went up the stairs to the boy's dormitory, and fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.  
  
He awoke the next morning feeling happy, and a little apprehensive. How could he confront Lily about this, when he couldn't even get a word in before she walked away? He was walking between Potions and Herbology when he saw her. He opened his mouth to say something, but she turned and walked down an empty corridor.  
  
He ran after her and shouted, "Lily, wait!"  
  
She stopped and turned around, and said huffily, "What do you want?"  
  
He said, slightly out of breath, "I think I've figured it out!"  
  
She raised her eyebrow, obviously not understanding what he meant.  
  
"I mean, why you're mad at me!"  
  
She looked at him skeptically and replied, "Really? Then prove it."  
  
"It's that I never noticed you, isn't it? You've liked me all this time and I never even thought about it. Well I do like you Lily, I always have... just never realized you felt the same way till last night, I was thinking about it..." he prattled on.  
  
She looked taken aback.  
  
"Honestly James, you are so...so.... arrogant!" she yelled a moment later.  
  
James stopped talking.  
  
He waited, and then said hesitantly, "What do you mean?"  
  
"Did you ever stop to think," She said angrily, her face getting red again, "that it's not all about you?"  
  
He had a look on his face that told her he had never even considered it.  
  
"Yes, James, it's not about you. What a crazy idea!" she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "Its that we were becoming really good friends, then you go and join the Quidditch team, didn't bother to tell me, and left me in the dust without a clue! And then, you have the nerve to accuse me of being jealous, well no James, I wasn't jealous. I was angry. You completely left me out of your life, and I thought we were friends."  
  
"B-but we are friends, Lily," he stammered.  
  
"Not anymore James! I refuse to be friends with someone who is so rude and arrogant and who just picks on people because they feel like it! I can't stand people like that, and I won't be making any exceptions for you, James Potter!" and with that, she turned and walked to Herbology, leaving James standing alone once more, looking defeated.  
  
It seemed James had finally realized the he would never have Lily back, but this only made him want her back more. He had always gone for the hard to get girls, the challenges. He made a vow to himself that from this day forward, he would do anything to win Lily Evans over.  
  
~End of 2nd year~ 


	3. Year Three

James was still feeling down in the dumps about Lily, but Sirius was coming later on so that cheered him up. He sat in his family's large kitchen and waited for his dad to be back with Sirius. In the meantime, he started playing with one of the golf balls his dad had enchanted. His mother walked in.  
  
"James!" she said impatiently. "Don't play with that in the house, you'll break something!"  
  
He mumbled a small 'Sorry' and went outside to practice with his broomstick. He had just taken off and caught one of the golf balls when he heard a crash inside. He landed and ran inside, where he saw his best friend and his dad, who had just arrived by way of Floo Powder. James and Sirius took Sirius' stuff up to James' room, where he would be staying for the rest of the summer. Then they went downstairs to wait for dinner.  
  
The rest of James' summer flew by quickly, now that he had his best friend to distract him. Sooner than James expected, he was at King's Cross station, waiting for his things to be loaded on the train. His mom was giving him the usual speech, which James tuned out but caught a few words of.  
  
"Now James.... behave yourself....schoolwork..." he heard her say.  
  
"Yes mum," he gave his usual empty reply.  
  
"Now go ahead and find yourself a seat. And STAY OUT OF TROUBLE!" she shouted after him.  
  
James turned to Sirius when they had found a compartment. "Got your permission slip?" he reminded him.  
  
"Yep." Sirius smiled.  
  
This year was their third year at Hogwarts, meaning that they could now visit Hogsmeade on specified weekends. However, James and Sirius had visited Hogsmeade multiple times before, with their other friends. They called themselves the marauders, and they knew every passageway in the school, one of which led into the basement of Honeyduke's, a shop in Hogsmeade.  
  
When they arrived at Hogwarts, the four friends ran off together towards the Great Hall. James noticed that Remus was looking pale, and extremely ill. This was not the first time this had happened, and any time they brought it up, Remus would change the subject. He wouldn't go to see Madam Pomfrey, either. James and Sirius had become suspicious about this last year, and had been noting that this happened about once a month. They still couldn't quite figure out the connection, but they were sure they were getting close.  
  
James and Sirius were talking about it that night after everyone had gone to bed, about all the coincidences that followed Remus' ill looks.  
  
"And, did you notice, Remus is always awfully tired the next morning?" said Sirius suspiciously.  
  
"And did you notice, he always seems to be ill around the full moon?" said James, grinning.  
  
"Well mate, I think we've figured it out!" said Sirius.  
  
"Remus is a werewolf!" they said in unison.  
  
"Let's wait up for him and see where he goes," suggested James.  
  
"Yeah, I want to see him transform!" said Sirius eagerly.  
  
Just then they heard a creak. The boys dormitory door opened and shut and the two boys turned around in their chairs. Remus was heading down the staircase in a rush.  
  
"Oy, Remus!" said Sirius loudly. "Where are you going?"  
  
Remus jumped, startled at the sound of a voice.  
  
"What are you two doing up?" he hissed softly.  
  
"Well, we should ask you the same question," said James coolly, "except, we already know."  
  
Remus stared at them for a moment, and then smiled and said, "When did you figure it out? I was hoping you would. I'm not supposed to tell anyone."  
  
"Well," Sirius began. "We found it quite odd that you got really pale and ill-looking once a month."  
  
"And then," James chipped in. "we figured out that it was near the full moon."  
  
"Well," Remus said quickly. "Congratulations, but I must be going... don't want to transform right here..."  
  
"Can we come?" Sirius jumped up.  
  
"Are you thick? I could kill you!" Remus said.  
  
"Oh, guess we hadn't thought of that one. Werewolves bite humans." Sirius said gloomily.  
  
"Well, there is a way. Mind you, it would take a while, maybe a couple of years, and we could get in serious trouble." James said.  
  
At James' last few words, Sirius' face brightened. "What is it?" he said excitedly.  
  
"Well, I remember Professor McGonagall saying something about animagus, you know, people who can turn into one animal at will?" James started.  
  
"You're not thinking..." said Remus, apparently seeing the proverbial gears turning in James' head.  
  
"Yes, I am," said James. "We can pull it off, right Sirius?"  
  
"Yeah, I think we could... but we can't register now, so we can't register ever. No one but us three could ever know."  
  
"F-four," stuttered a small voice behind them, the voice of Peter Pettigrew.  
  
"Oh, right." James said. "Are you sure you will be able to manage it? We'll be too busy figuring it out ourselves to bother helping you," he added icily.  
  
"And don't forget, we have to find the book that talks about how to become an animagus." Sirius added knowingly. "No doubt it's in the restricted section."  
  
"Well, that won't stop us, will it?" James replied slyly, reaching into his bag and pulling out a slippery, silvery cloak- an invisibility cloak.  
  
Sirius grinned and his face lit up.  
  
"Tomorrow night, then?" James said casually.  
  
Sirius nodded eagerly.  
  
The next night, Sirius and James crept quietly out of their dormitory, and crept down the stairs. They walked on their tiptoes, careful to keep the cloak completely surrounding them. They walked the familiar path to the library, engulfed in complete darkness and silence. The quickly yet tediously opened and shut the entrance doors to the library, and snuck towards the restricted section. They reached the fence-like door with a large lock linking it to the wall. James pulled out his wand and quietly hissed 'Alohomora.' The lock clicked and the door opened a crack. They carefully pushed the door open, slow enough that it barely creaked for a door its age. James quickly skimmed the top shelves, while Sirius, who was a bit shorter, searched the lower shelves.  
  
"What exactly are we looking for?" whispered Sirius.  
  
"I think it's a book called Human Transfiguration." James said.  
  
"You'd think with all the fuss Madame Pince makes over this library, these books would at least be in alphabetical order!" Sirius hissed.  
  
"Aha!" said James triumphantly, grabbing a tattered old book with faded silver writing.  
  
"Well, let's check it over before we leave, make sure it's the right one!" Sirius said.  
  
James flipped through the book.  
  
"This is the one," he said softly. "Becoming an animagus is a difficult and trying task. Many great wizards have tried and failed to completely transform...." he read aloud.  
  
"Alright, let's go." Sirius said impatiently.  
  
The next few days were spent reading and rereading the animagus section of the book; the boys wanted everything to go smoothly.  
  
"In order to become an animagus, one needs a certain amount of skill and experience in the area of transfiguration. That sure cleared a lot up!" Sirius said, frustrated. "This is just information! When do we get to the actual transforming?" he added impatiently.  
  
"After we understand as much as we can about actual animagus and complications..." James trailed off. "I don't want to be horribly disfigured for life or anything like that; I don't know about you," he finished, and began to rumple his hair.  
  
Sirius shook his head and went buried his face into the book. A few minutes later, his face became visible again.  
  
"This book says the first thing you have to do is choose the animal that you want to become." Sirius said excitedly. "They've provided a list of the ten simplest animals to transform into, from easiest to hardest."  
  
"Well," James said enthusiastically, "let's have a look."  
  
They looked down at the book and in neat, loopy handwriting was a list of animals.  
  
Ladybug Beetle Bees and Wasps Toad Rat Birds Snake Cat Dog Deer  
  
A note at the bottom of the page read:  
  
All animal transformations may be male or female, depending upon gender of the person transforming.  
  
James and Sirius exchanged excited glances, and frantically tried to decide which animal would be best for them.  
  
"Well, I always wanted to fly," said James excitedly.  
  
Sirius just stared blankly at James. "Broomstick?" he said, as if it should have been obvious.  
  
"Oh...yeah." said James, blushing slightly. "Well, I want to be strong and fast then."  
  
"I always wanted to know what it would be like to be a dog," said Sirius, seeming as if he had made his decision.  
  
"Hmmm...." James said thoughtfully. "Maybe I'll be a stag,"  
  
"A what?" said Peter.  
  
"A male deer you idiot!" James said impatiently. "I expect you'll be going with something easy, like a toad or a rat!"  
  
"Well, rats can fit into small places..." Peter said optimistically.  
  
"So it's settled then," whispered Lupin, as if afraid they would be overheard in the empty common room. "Sirius- dog, James- stag, Peter- rat."  
  
They all nodded in agreement.  
  
"The book says that next," Sirius went on; "When we cast the spell on ourselves, we will need to picture the most specific type of animal we want to be, especially if it varies. This is where most wizards mess up; you need to clear your mind of everything except for the animal you want to be."  
  
He looked up at James with a skeptical glance. "What is this, yoga?" he exclaimed.  
  
James chuckled. Then, looking serious, he said, "What's the incantation we need to use?"  
  
Sirius showed him the spell; it was about half a page long.  
  
"How are we supposed to practice using it?" James inquired.  
  
"Well the book says we need to find a useless object, and instead of pointing our wands at ourselves, we point at the object, and if we do it right it will turn into a miniscule model of the animal we are thinking of." Sirius said. "It could take a long time, even for wizards with 'a high amount of expertise in the field of transfiguration.'"  
  
"Well then," said James with a grin. "We'd better get started."  
  
"I won't be able to help you practice tomorrow night," Remus informed them. "Full moon."  
  
The next night, the boys stayed at the Great Hall quite late, discussed their transformations and why they were having problems with it.  
  
Remus stood up and said 'Got to be going,' and left. James yawned, and decided to go up to Gryffindor Tower and turn in for the night. After he left, Severus Snape walked over to Sirius and Peter.  
  
"Where's Remus off too?" he said nosily.  
  
"Maybe you should keep your greasy nose out of other people's business." Sirius shot at him.  
  
Snape scowled. "Well I was just interested, seeing as how he's frequently no where to be found."  
  
"Did you ever stop to think that maybe he just doesn't want you around so he--" a sudden thought struck Sirius. "If you go to the Whomping Willow tonight and touch the big knot at the base and crawl into that hole at the bottom, maybe you'll find out," he said, smirking on the inside.  
  
"Why would he be there?" Snape said curiously.  
  
"I'm saying nothing more." Sirius said shortly. "You'll just have to see for yourself."  
  
Snape walked out the door of the Great Hall, and Sirius leapt to the window, where Snape was now crouching in the bushes, apparently waiting for Remus.  
  
Sirius strutted back up to Gryffindor Tower, where James was already in bed. Sirius decided James had to see this, so he woke him.  
  
"Wha ya wan?" James said groggily.  
  
Sirius proceeded to tell James all about his wonderful scheme, and James leapt out of bed.  
  
"Are you thick? If Remus kills him or does anything to him, we'll be expelled!" he shouted at Sirius, who was now blushing, feeling quite stupid.  
  
James ran out of the Tower and out of the entrance. He ran towards the Whomping Willow, where he could see the top of Severus' head disappearing into the passageway beneath. James leapt towards the tree and waved his arms frantically in the passageway, finally clambering in and grabbed hold of Snape's cloak. He pulled him upward and out of the tree; Snape's eyes were wide, he was staring right at a werewolf. James shoved him out of the tunnel and onto the grounds. He could hear growling from beneath him; Remus was coming after him. "Run!" he yelled to Snape, who quickly stood up and ran to the entrance presumably going to tell Professor Dumbledore. James frantically climbed out of the tunnel and ran as fast as he could back into the castle. He shut the door behind him and leaned against it, gasping for air.  
  
Dumbledore and Severus appeared at the foot of the staircase a few minutes later, Severus' face pale and terrified.  
  
"Severus, you will not repeat what you saw to anyone," Dumbledore said sternly.  
  
Snape nodded, then said, "Professor, James and Sirius- they tricked me, I could have been-"  
  
"I am well aware of what happened, Severus, as Mr. Black came immediately to me after Mr. Potter ran after you." Dumbledore cut him off. "And I am to understand that Mr. Potter is not to blame in the slightest, more to be thanked for saving your life," he added. "Fifty points will be added to Gryffindor, however twenty will be taken away for Mr. Black's trick that could have resulted in severe injuries to Mr. Snape."  
  
Dumbledore dismissed them and James trudged back up to Gryffindor Tower to get some sleep.  
  
The rest of the boys' third year at the school was in attempts to transform books and leaves and everything they could get their hands on into their animals, but they had only been able to get the object to sprout a tail. And before they knew it, they were on the train back home.  
  
~End of Third Year~ 


	4. Year Four

James was excited to be going back to school. He wanted to become an animagus badly, so that he could go with Remus when he transformed. Plus, he thought to himself, there could be a few more advantages. No one would ever know he was an animagus, so he could slip in and out of... places without notice. He was also eager to get back to playing Quidditch- he had been practicing all summer with those old golf balls and his reflexes had reached their peak, he felt. On September the first he eagerly jumped onto the train and found his friends in a compartment that was empty except for them. As Remus and Peter filled Sirius and James in on their summer's James looked out of the compartment door window and saw Lily. He felt butterflies in his stomach and it was as if his heart had leapt into his throat, which tightened. He quickly looked away as she peeked in to see if there was anyone in the compartment. Seeing James, she immediately shut the door and moved on, catching up with her friends. Sirius seemed to have been the only one to notice this, but didn't say anything. He was James' best friend, but he wasn't very good at advice when it came to matters of that sort.  
  
After what seemed like an eternity, the train came to a stop at Hogwarts. After he and his friends watched the Sorting and finished eating, James was oddly tired, so he went straight upstairs, but couldn't sleep. He had started thinking about Lily, and couldn't get her out of his head. He lay awake long after the flames from the candles dimly lighting the dormitory flickered and expired, but finally, exhaustion overwhelmed him and he fell into a restless sleep.  
  
James woke up the next morning to find that once again, his friends had already gone down to the Great Hall for breakfast. He got dressed quickly and, famished, headed down for breakfast. When he there, he saw Remus, Sirius, and Peter whispering excitedly to one another.  
  
"What's all this about?" James inquired as he took his usual seat next to Sirius.  
  
"Well," Sirius began. "We reckon that we shouldn't be the only ones who know all the stuff about Hogwarts we do."  
  
"And.?" James said, still left in the dark. "So we thought we'd make some kind of. map that shows people all the secret passages out of Hogwarts and that sort of thing," piped up Remus.  
  
"And we'd just leave this map lying around for anyone to find, like Dumbledore? Then we'd be in for it." James said.  
  
"Well, no," Peter started nervously. "We'd. we'd put some kind of charm on it so not everyone can see it."  
  
"Yeah, we're not stupid you know," Sirius said defensively.  
  
James snorted; Sirius hit him on the head.  
  
"And what would we call this map? Plus, with that masterpiece, I'd want some kind of recognition for it, wouldn't you?" James added.  
  
"How about the Mischief Map?" suggested Peter.  
  
"No, that's too plain." James said, waving his hand impatiently.  
  
"I've got a brilliant idea." Sirius said suddenly. "How about the Marauder's Map?"  
  
"Yeah," said Remus. "After all, that is the name we fashioned ourselves- the Marauders."  
  
There was a murmur of agreement, and they all got up, leaving half empty plates, to head up to the Gryffindor common room to discuss the finer details.  
  
"Well, even if we do make a map that tells people secret passageways and such, how can we guarantee them that they won't run into any teachers along the way? Or anyone else who might suspect them, for that matter." Sirius said thoughtfully.  
  
"Well, this would make it even more difficult, but we could. well we could enchant it so it tells where all teachers and some students are. We'd have to be selective though. only telling teachers, ghosts, and students who are near a passageway," said James.  
  
"And also, specific people. Like us, and that git Snivellus. He'd tell on us the first chance he got if he saw us doing this." Sirius added.  
  
"Ok, so let's make a list of what we want on this map. We'll need someone to draw it out thought. How about you James? You're pretty good with art." Remus suggested.  
  
James pulled out a quill, ink, and a bit of parchment. "So," he mumbled, "Passageways, Snivellus, Marauders, Person in possession of map, People near passageways, current teachers. it will change with the years. we'll need an automatic changing Protean Charm for that." he trailed off.  
  
"Ok, let's draw the map already!" said Sirius impatiently.  
  
"Hang on, we've got to make sure its perfect," said Remus.  
  
"Always the perfectionist." mumbled Sirius.  
  
"Well, the location of people will sort of be a spin off of the Floo Network. except it won't be based on location, it'll be based on the person.plus we'll need another automatic Protean Charm for that, because people will move and the dots need to move with them." James said aloud to no one in particular.  
  
"Well, let's draw the map then, and we'll figure out how to work that part in later," suggested Remus, seeing the anxiously excited look on Sirius' face. "We aren't going have to walk around so you get all the parts of the map right, are we?" he added.  
  
"Nah," said James indifferently, waving his arm as if shooing a fly. "Having spent three and a half years here, I have this place memorized."  
  
He quickly sketched out a rough Hogwarts, adding a circle here, mumbling "Gryffindor Tower." and a large rectangle there ("Great Hall.") until he had Hogwarts, the lake, the Quidditch pitch, and everything in between, down to the last detail.  
  
"Let's someone run and get a book on Protean Charms from the library." James ordered. "I'll draw the dots in the meantime, then we can put the charm on them."  
  
Remus ran off towards the library, and James began making dots in a corner of the page, marking them Severus Snape ("Or else no one but us will know who he is," James said when Sirius asked why he wasn't Snivellus.) and Professor Dumbledore, going down the list of teachers and many students.  
  
By that time Remus returned with the book, and James flipped through the pages until he found the Protean Charm.  
  
"I guess first we have to make the dots mobile," he said. "Or the charm won't do a thing. Except maybe make a dot bigger when someone gets fat or something," he added, laughing at his own corny idea of a joke.  
  
"Erm. Locomotor.Dots," He said, unsure if it would work.  
  
The dots immediately began to zoom over the page, the name of the person they represented following along.  
  
"Ok," said Remus. "Now you have to make them stop moving long enough to do the Protean Charm on them. Then you have to say Reticulo Dots."  
  
James nodded in comprehension, then pointed at the dots. "Immobulus!  
  
The dots immediately stopped in their tracks. James pointed at them again. "Reticulo.dots!" The dots began to move again, but went to their places. Professor McGongall's dot, for instance was in her study, and Snape's was in the Slytherin Common Room.  
  
"Well done, mate!" Sirius said excitedly. Now we have to make it say Marauder's Map and our names."  
  
"Hang on," said Remus. "If we put our names on it, we're sure to be caught. We need some kind of nicknames."  
  
"Brilliant." James whispered suddenly. Peter, Sirius, and Remus stared at him without a clue. "How about," he continued, "a nickname that has to do with our animals?"  
  
"Great idea James!" said Sirius, who was the most excited about all of this. "But what's a good nickname for a dog?"  
  
"Umm." said Peter.  
  
"How about. Wormtail, for Peter." Remus said suggestively.  
  
"S-sure," said Peter, happy enough just to be included in all of this.  
  
"You can be Moony, Remus!" said Sirius. "After all, you transform because of the moon."  
  
"Yeah," said James. "We need nicknames that are distinct characteristics of our animals. Like Prongs."  
  
"Who.?" started Peter.  
  
"Me, a stag!" said James, impatiently cutting Peter off.  
  
"And I could be. Snout?" said Sirius, at a loss for ideas.  
  
"No," said James, concentrating. "Padfoot," he said suddenly. "After all, dogs have padded feet, don't they?"  
  
"Ok," said Remus. "But how do we fit all this on half an inch of parchment?" he added, indicating the small space they left themselves for writing on the map.  
  
James began scribbling, and we he was done, he held it up for them to see.  
  
Messrs. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs  
Surveyors of Aids to Magical Mischief Makers  
Are Proud to present  
THE MARAUDER'S MAP  
  
"Perfect," whispered Remus.  
  
"Now all we need is a charm that will make this map hidden until you say certain words to it. And a diversion type thing, so that if someone says the wrong thing, it will say things back to him," suggested Sirius.  
  
"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good," James blurted out suddenly.  
  
"What?" said Remus, looking at Sirius, who shrugged.  
  
"Those can be the magic words to make the map appear. And to wipe it, say. Mischief managed!" James explained.  
  
"Brilliant," said Sirius. Peter nodded in agreement.  
  
"But," James said, "is a charm that will hide this until those words are said?"  
  
"Well, that's kind of like Apparating and Disapparating, isn't it?" said Sirius thoughtfully. "We'd have to look it up to be sure, but I think that would work."  
  
James turned to Remus. "Feel like another trip to the library?"  
  
Remus sighed, then turned and walked toward the library. A few minutes later he returned with a book on disappearing spells. James slowly flipped the pages.  
  
"Aha!" he said after a few minutes. "To conceal information, point at it and say 'Vanescero' and the words you want to make it disappear. To make it appear, say 'Patescero' and the words you want to make it appear."  
  
"Ok," said Sirius, pulling out his wand. "Can I have a go at it?"  
  
James thrust the map at him.  
  
"Patescero I solemnly swear I am up to no good." The page glowed in a golden light for a moment, then went back to beige parchment. "Vanescero Mischief Managed!'" Sirius finished, and the words vanished. "I hope that worked, or all our work will be lost."  
  
James took the paper. "I solemnly swear I am up to no good!" he said loudly. The map started to draw itself onto the page, until it was completed, people and all. "Mischief managed!" he said, and the map immediately disappeared.  
  
The four boys whooped and cheered, but cautious not to draw attention to themselves.  
  
"Now we have to find a way to create our diversion part." James said. "I'm lost on that one though."  
  
Remus piped up. "Well I remember something about a spell that can make words appear out of nowhere, talking to whoever it is. Problem is, they've got to say their name."  
  
"What spell is that?" Sirius inquired.  
  
"It's a type of memory charm, except it would conceal our 14 year old personalities into the paper, so it will say whatever we would have said in that situation. I think its called a Remembrance Charm," he said knowledgably. Looking at James and Sirius, he added with a sigh, "I guess I'll be getting another book then," and trudged off towards the library.  
  
About 10 minutes later he returned with a fairly thick book in his hands. He flipped it open.  
  
"Each of us will have to do this charm to ourselves," he said. "What we've got to do is say 'Recordaro' and then our name, or in this case, our nickname, and our words will appear on this page, using the person trying to get at our map's name and talking to them."  
  
The three boys looked at him in puzzlement, still not understanding. Remus sighed. "Let me show you. 'Recordaro Moony' he said. The end of his wand erupted with silver light that lit up his face, floating in front of him for a moment. It then mimicked his exact shape and size and floated toward the page, disappearing on contact.  
  
James, Sirius, and Peter looked at him in amazement, and then did the same thing to themselves, until all of their personalities were stored in the map.  
  
"Well, lets test it then," said James.  
  
Peter stepped forward. "Peter Pettigrew demands that you show me your contents!" he said, repeating what James was mouthing at him.  
  
Words appeared, one by one, reading:  
  
Mt. Moony would like to say that Peter Pettigrew has an abnormally large head, but unfortunately that head has no brains.  
  
Mr. Prongs agrees with Mr. Moony and would like to add the Peter Pettigrew is one of the most pitiful wizards in existence.  
  
Mr. Padfoot would like to say that he is astonished Peter Pettigrew is not a squib, what with his lousy charms skills.  
  
Mr. Wormtail bids Peter Pettigrew a good day, and advises him to brush up on his speaking skills.  
  
"Well," said James cheerily, "I guess it works!"  
  
~End of Year 4~ 


	5. Year Five

After finishing the Marauder's Map, the boy's decide they needed to get becoming animagus down, since their names on the map were based on the animals they were supposed to be able to transform into.  
  
Finally one day after school, James and Sirius managed it.  
  
"I got it!" James yelled excitedly. "Look!"  
  
He was pointing at a miniscule stag running around the room that was previously a goblet.  
  
Sirius attempted the spell another time. "Vertero Dog!" he shouted, and suddenly, the book he was practicing on began to change. A small black dog, miniature enough to be held on the palm of two hands, was chasing after the stag.  
  
"Ok," said Remus, watching from the other side of the room. "The book says now you've got to concentrate on the animal hard. Peter stop trying. It's got to be silent or it might break their concentration. This is the serious part. Then point your wand at yourselves and say the incantation."  
  
"Ok, on the count of three then?" said Sirius. James nodded in agreement.  
  
"One. Two. (Peter and Remus held their breath)Three!" they said in unison.  
  
"Vertero Dog!" said Sirius, while James said "Vertero Stag!"  
  
Both of them immediately began to change. They both fell on all fours, as if some invisible force was pushing them down. Antlers began to sprout on top of James' head, which was now covered in short, tan hair. Sirius' nose extended quite a noticeable amount, and he was starting to sprout short, coarse black hair all over his face. James' body lengthened, and he was now completely covered in the tan hair replacing his clothes. Sirius was now covered in a full coat of short black hair, his feet became smaller and a tail sprouted out of his rear. James had a short tail sprouting, and his feet were now hard hooves. About a minute after it began, they were completely transformed.  
  
"To transform back, you simply have to concentrate on the way you normally look. Clothes included," he added, shuddering at the thought of them transforming back without clothes on.  
  
A minute later the dog and stage grew tall, and, standing on two legs again, were James and Sirius, huge grins plastered to their faces.  
  
The next few weeks were spent trying to assist Peter in successfully transforming an object into a rat.  
  
"No, Peter, it's more of a swish, and then a jab."  
  
" If you do it like that, you're more likely to poke someone's eye out than become a rat."  
  
"Speak clearly, stop stuttering."  
  
Finally, after about a month, Peter managed to change an inkwell into a small rat that squeaked and ran into a corner.  
  
"I can see the resemblance," joked Sirius.  
  
James laughed.  
  
"Quiet, you two!" Remus said. "Now he's got to concentrate."  
  
"Vertere Rat!" Peter exclaimed.  
  
At first it seemed like nothing was going to happen. Then peters nose grew shrunk and became pink, and it lengthened a considerable amount. Whiskers grew out of his cheeks, and he rather looked like a boy in a rat costume. A long, sectioned tail grew out of his rear, and he fell forward onto his legs and arms, which had shrunk to the thickness of small twigs. His body sucked in, and about 30 seconds later, he was a full on rat.  
  
"Concentrate on yourself Peter, and please remember clothes," James said.  
  
About two minutes later, Peter was standing where the rat had been perched on the floor. James and Sirius put their hands up to their faces, making sure they didn't see anything they didn't want to.  
  
"You can put your hands down, he's got clothes on," said Remus.  
  
"Lucky you were brave enough to look, Moony," Sirius said, laughing.  
  
Remus swatted at him. "Well, none of you have to use the spell anymore, you can just transform at will, so I guess I'll be returning this to the library," he said and walked out of the room.  
  
A few days later, James walked in to the Gryffindor common room where he found Sirius, Remus, and Peter sitting around a fire doing homework.  
  
"Wher've you been James?" Sirius said.  
  
"Checking the lunar charts. Full moon's in three days," he said happily.  
  
"I know," said Remus darkly, looking up from Unfogging the Future.  
  
James continued, "We can finally transform with you! That should make it a lot more bearable for you."  
  
"Uh huh." said Remus skeptically from behind his books. "And how do you expect to go with me, when Madam Pomfrey takes me down to the Whomping Willow? She won't allow you to come, I'm sure of it."  
  
James grinned. "You've forgotten, Moony old friend, that I have an invisibility cloak. She'll never know we're right behind you."  
  
"All three of you will be able to fit underneath it?" he said, indicating Sirius and Peter.  
  
"I dunno. Let's try." James said. "Oy, Sirius, Peter! C'mere!"  
  
James took out the invisibility cloak and wrapped it around the three of them. They immediately disappeared and James popped his head out. "Can you see any part of us?" he asked.  
  
"Aside from your head, no." Remus replied. "I guess it'll work. I just don't want any of you to get hurt."  
  
"Oh, come on stop being such a worry wart!" Sirius said. "It'll be a barrel of laughs."  
  
Three days later, Remus went down to the Great Hall to meet Madam Pomfrey. She escorted him outside towards the Whomping Willow. When they reached it, she pulled out her wand.  
  
"Extendere," she whispered, and her wand grew at least three feet, so she could poke the knot that froze the tree. When the knot was touched, the tree immediately stopped swinging its branches and stood completely still, like a normal tree would. Oddly enough, it didn't look normal. Madam Pomfrey beckoned Remus forward and he disappeared into the tunnel. She walked hurriedly toward the Great Hall, and when she was out of sight, James, Sirius, and Peter pulled off the invisibility cloak. Three 15 year old boys disappeared into the tunnel; on the other side a rat, a stag, and a dog came out into the Shrieking Shack. Remus the werewolf was sitting in a corner, gnawing on a table leg, growling, and letting out an occasional howl. He caught sight of James, Sirius, and Peter and his face suddenly seemed warmer, kinder. As he walked toward them, Peter let out a squeak and rushed under the bed, his tail sticking out. Sirius stepped forward and closed his mouth around his tail and pulled him up on top of the bed. James and Sirius had great fun keeping Remus company, with Peter squeaking uncomfortably on the bed, intimidated by Remus' werewolf form. Eventually Remus transformed back to himself, and when they were sure it was safe, so did Sirius, James, and Peter.  
  
They slipped under the invisibility cloak, except for Remus, because he had a legitimate reason for being out this late, or rather, early. They went up to Gryffindor Tower, with a great feeling of accomplishment.  
  
However, now they had much more important things to be doing- 5th year was O.W.L year, and they were rapidly approaching.  
  
(The Order of the Phoenix Chapter "Snape's Worst Memory" occurs here)  
  
There were a few cheers from the crowd, and James and Sirius spent a few more minutes taking turns hexing Snape.  
  
James was still eyeing the girls at the water's edge, though he knew continuing to mess around with Snape would only make Lily even angrier with him. He fought the urge to put a Jelly Legs curse on Snape and then make him dance around on flimsy legs, and sat down next to Lupin.  
  
~End of Year 5~ 


	6. Year Six

This is the year, James decided, as Lupin, Sirius, and Peter were laughing and horsing around on their walk towards the school. I've got to get Lily to go out with me. There's got to be some way. Her last words to him at the end of the previous year had been playing over and over in his head all summer, nagging him. "Messing up your hair because you think it looks cool to look like you've just gotten off your broomstick, showing off with that stupid Snitch, walking down corridors and hexing people who annoy you just because you can- I'm surprised your broomstick can get off the ground with that fat head on it. You make me SICK." Finally she had made him realize that now everyone was happy with the way he acted. He wasn't exactly a pleasant person to be on the wrong side of. That was all going to change, he had decided. He would do anything to gain Lily's affection. James didn't know what, but there was something about her, something that just left him with a large gaping hole in his stomach whenever she walked away or turned him down. He had tried persistence, asking her out whenever he could casually slip it in- that hadn't worked, if anything, it had made matters worse.  
  
Now Sirius and Peter hand their wands out and were performing small hexes on each other, with Remus watching from the side. By the time they reached the castle, the top of Peter's head had an extremely high amount of curly, brown hair sticking out at least 5 inches in all directions. Sirius' nose had grown about a foot, and he quite resembled Pinocchio. Someone's hex, no doubt Peter's, had missed Sirius and hit Remus' ears, which had stretched to the size of textbooks. After their hexes wore off, Sirius had Peter in a headlock.  
  
James looked at them, shook his head, and walked ahead to the Great Hall. Sirius absentmindedly let go of Peter, staring after James. He looked to Remus and Peter, confused, but they just shrugged. Sirius ran ahead to catch up with him.  
  
"Oy! James!" Sirius called after him.  
  
James didn't say anything.  
  
"What's with you?" Sirius asked.  
  
"Its nothing," James said, a little too quickly.  
  
"I think I've known you long enough to realize that when you turn down a chance to mess around with Peter, it's not nothing." Sirius argued. "It wouldn't have anything to do with Lily, would it?" Sirius said suggestively.  
  
"How insightful of you," James said coldly, irritated.  
  
"Hey," said Sirius angrily. "You don't have to take out your problems on me. I haven't done anything wrong. I was just trying to help." He turned around to walk back to Remus and Peter.  
  
"Sorry," James said. "D'you think she'd ever go out with me?" he added hopefully.  
  
Sirius snorted, then catching the look on James' face, straightened out his face. "Well, I think she pretty much cleared that up last year." he said, and, imitating Lily added, "You make me SICK!"  
  
James didn't laugh. "Well maybe she's right," he said. "Maybe I am conceited."  
  
"Well, I wouldn't say conceited, but you are a little full of yourself." Sirius replied.  
  
James glared at him. "Not helping!" he said.  
  
They reached the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall and took their usual seats.  
  
"But hey, so am I!" Sirius added, with a feeble chuckle. "Is there anything I could do to help you?"  
  
"Well, could you.er. tone it down a bit?" he said.  
  
Sirius looked at him, puzzled.  
  
"Well its just. when you are hexing people and goofing off, even if I'm not involved it.er. makes me look bad," he explained. "Because I'm not stopping you."  
  
Sirius looked at him skeptically. "So you want us to change the way we act just so you can impress Lily? What kind of dopes do you take us for?" he said. Seeing James' face he added, "I'm just kidding, you know. 'Course we'll do it."  
  
He thought for a moment. Then he said, "But what about Snivellus? I don't reckon he'd be so keen to stop sneaking up and you and hexing you just so you can get Lily. Then you'd have everything he wants- Popularity, talent, wits, Quidditch and a girl. Only problem is, when you retaliate, that's the only part Lily gets to see."  
  
"Well I could just avoid him." James said. Obviously this thought had not occurred to him.  
  
"Or you could do the whole school a favor and just accidentally finish him off!" Sirius said. "But I reckon that'd completely ruin any chance you still have with Lily," he added jokingly.  
  
By this time, all of the Sorting was finished and food had appeared on the golden plates lining the table. Sirius and James helped themselves to some food, and continued discussing how James could get Lily to see him for more than an "arrogant, bullying toerag".  
  
The conversation was continued all the way to Gryffindor Tower, that is, until they passed Lily in the hall. The conversation came to an abrupt halt. Lily was determinedly not looking at James, who brought his free hand upward and began rumpling his hair. Lily caught this out of the corner of her eye, and let out a very loud sigh. James hung his head the rest of the way up to the common room.  
  
"So," said Sirius awkwardly. He wasn't quite sure what to say- he had never been in this type of situation before.  
  
James remained silent until he stood up from the armchair he was sitting in, and walked gloomily up the stairs to the boy's dormitory. Sirius waited a bit so James could be alone long enough to make it seem plausible if he was "asleep." He went upstairs and got ready for and went to bed.  
  
The next morning James woke up and rolled over groggily. He had had a dream about Lily.  
  
James was on his knees in front of Lily.  
  
"Please, please go out with me, Lily!" he was pleading.  
  
"I can't, James," she said.  
  
"Why not? I've changed for you! I'll do anything!" he said.  
  
"But I can't," she said simply. "I'm engaged to the giant squid!"  
  
He knew he was being stupid- Lily wouldn't get engaged to a squid, but it still seemed that that was the general idea of how this whole episode with Lily would end.  
  
Then he realized- Quidditch practice- "What a great way to start off as captain. late."  
  
Andrew Watley had graduated the previous year, and James was appointed captain by the rest of the team. He got up quickly and got dressed, running towards the Great Hall. He scarfed down 2 pieces of toast and jelly, broom in hand, and ran out onto the Quidditch Pitch. The rest of the team was already in the air, practicing.  
  
He jumped up onto his broomstick and pushed off.  
  
"Sorry guys, overslept," he explained shortly.  
  
"Ah, its alright James," replied Marsha, one of the team's chasers. "It's not like you need the practice anyway," she added, looking at James hopefully.  
  
"Er- yeah," he said uncomfortably, quickly changing the subject. "So today we need to train our new chaser. the one replacing Andrew."  
  
As James walked back from Quidditch practice, he happened to see Lily and her friends standing over by the tree where he and his friends had sat last year after their Defense against the Dark Arts OWL exam. Unfortunately for him, this tree was situated just outside the main entrance to the school. He fought the strong urge to ruffle his hair; he brought his hand halfway up and thought better of it, bringing it back down to his side. Lily looked up at him a then looked back down at her friends. James walked by and went in the large doors. A few of the girl's from Lily's group turned toward James and looked hopefully at him. Lily sighed very loudly and her friends turned back to their conversation. Lily glared at James, obviously thinking that James had come by right after Quidditch practice on purpose to show off again.  
  
He shook his head and walked to Gryffindor Tower to take a shower and work on some homework.  
  
"You know Lily," said one of her friends, "I'd give anything to get James to look at me the way he looks at you."  
  
"Yeah," piped up another, speaking dreamily, "why don't you go out with him?"  
  
"He's just too much of a big-headed show off," Lily said simply.  
  
"Yeah, a very good looking big headed show off," said another, "who also happens to be smart and talented."  
  
"And," said the girl who had been eyeing Sirius after her OWL exam; "he's best friends with another very good looking guy."  
  
Lily snorted. "Looks aren't everything. They are just a bunch of arrogant, show off jerks."  
  
"Can't you see it Lily?" said one of the girls, "James is totally head over heels for you. He'd do anything to get you to notice him."  
  
"Look, I've got a -er- Herbology test to study for. See you later." Lily said uncomfortably, gathering her things and rushing off to the common room.  
  
James was sitting sulkily in his usual chair in the common room with Sirius, and neither of them was saying anything. Then Lily walked in and James stood up, as if he were going to say something to her, and then sat back down. She sat down across the room from them and pulled out her books and some parchment, a blue quill, and an inkwell.  
  
Sirius, who seemed sick of all the silence, got up and mumbled something about "finding Remus and Peter" and left abruptly. James was left to nothing but his own thoughts and the sound of Lily's quill scratching on the parchment. It seemed to him that Lily would never go for James. He tried changing. He no longer hexed people just because they annoyed him, and it had been quite some time since he had done anything to Snape, but if Snape crossed the line he did hex him a bit and then walk away. But he no longer suspended him in midair, displaying Snape's pitiful-ness for all to see, and James thought that was quite an accomplishment. He had kept himself from messing up his hair, although his head now felt quite bare and his hair felt unusually tidy and he felt awkward with both his hands at his side- one of them had been consistently been on top of his head. The fire that had been lively and crackling in the fireplace was beginning to flicker and die.  
  
James got up and walked towards the boy's dormitory to go to bed. Lily didn't say anything or look up from her parchment, and James was beginning to lose hope. The end of the year was just around the corner, and she still hadn't recognized that he had changed.  
  
James awoke the next morning from another dream about Lily turning him down over and over, but luckily it didn't end in her saying she really had chosen the giant squid over him.  
  
~End of year 6~ 


End file.
